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CHAPTER 19
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He was doing it again.
Dreaming.
Every time he slept, she was beginning to notice the pattern. It seemed like it was only when he got into a deep sleep, when he'd been out long enough for his subconscious to really take over, that it unsettled her. All those naps on her couch, where he would give an occasional twitch or eye flicker, were not like the ones she'd seen the past two nights they'd slept together.
Still, dreams were just that; dreams. They'd never killed anybody in the past and she doubted they ever would in the future.
Though, it didn't stop her from worrying. Orihime could hardly believe they were anything pleasant, not with the way his muscles were tweaking out like that. All his twitching and spasming had woken her up after only a few hours of sleep. She had to wonder what it was he was dreaming so vividly about.
A muscle in his cheek flinched, almost like he'd been struck.
Then again, perhaps she didn't want to know about it…
Orihime rolled over onto her belly and pushed herself up onto her elbows in order to get a better view of his face.
They had fallen asleep on the floor, still encased amongst the plethora of pillows after he'd finally knocked out. She lay next to him, blushing faintly as she took in his naked form. He was on his back, his brow was drawn down just a small bit, and his mouth was lightly twisted into a vague frown. Her eyes ran down his body, marveling at the way his pale skin almost seemed to glow like moonlight in the darkness. His muscles were all clenched a little tighter than normal, causing his already defined abdominals to stand out even more. Though one of the cushions had been strewn messily over his hip, partially obstructing her view, it did not block all of it.
Before long, one of his hands started contracting into a fist, much like it had done the night before.
His light, even breaths picked up slightly, and Orihime watched as his eyes moved beneath their lids.
Feeling a bit bolder, she was able to swallow her hesitation and reach out to him. Her fingers gently smoothed away the hair that had fallen into his face, lovingly caressing his cheek as if he would break at the faintest touch.
Curiously, her gaze traveled down to his chest where his Hollow hole resided. Despite their recent intimacy, she had not yet had the opportunity to closely examine it. Or rather, she dared not. He'd always seemed to dislike the contact during past instances where she had tried to touch him there. He'd always sense her motive behind it and would stop her before she got too close. She remembered all too well his reaction to her attempt at that closeness in the library quite a while back.
Now, with him asleep and her curiosity unsated, Orihime couldn't resist. She gingerly lowered her hand to that gaping black hole in his sternum. She traced it with her fingers, noting how perfectly shaped it was. However, her eyes saddened as she felt the faint scar that surrounded it.
She had always expected it to be like a flawless circle, unobstructed by something as mortal as the dead flesh that currently encircled it. Instead, the hole seemed as if it was more like a missing piece of him; a lost fragment that had been carved directly out from his body, leaving behind a nothingness that was outlined with skin that was still damaged.
It was actually quite ironic, considering how easily he claimed he could heal. Yet that part of him, a part that almost looked as if it had been cut out with butcher's knife, had clearly never regenerated like normal wounds. It never would.
He wasn't human, and for some reason she kept forgetting that. Even with his mask and his pale skin and macabre eyes, she only ever seemed to remember that fact when she looked into that hole; that black, empty…hollow hole.
Longing to comfort him, she traced that void one last time. The moment she did, however, his hand suddenly clamped down over hers, crushing it in his grasp.
Orihime let out a silent scream as pain shot up her arm. Tears came to her eyes as she felt her hand contort inside his. He hardly seemed to be using any strength, yet her bones already felt as if they would give under the pressure.
"Ul-Ulquiorra!" she cried out, hoping to wake him. On instinct she tried to pull away from him.
The next thing she knew, she was on her back with a hand around her throat, staring up into a pair of cold green eyes so vacant it was terrifying.
Orihime frantically pushed at his chest as she felt his fingers constrict around her neck, cutting off her air.
His eyes…
They were so dead.
She had never been so frightened of him, never in all her time there.
She could tell by the way he was looking down at her that he wasn't seeing her, not really. That was the only comfort she had, small as it was.
Reaching up, Orihime tenderly touched his cheek with a shaking hand and just like that, the pressure on her throat was gone. He pulled away and Orihime gasped quietly, watching as he leaned back onto his knees. Her eyes were large and uncertain as she searched his own green orbs for any sign of life, hoping for a trace of something that could tell her he was normal again.
She had never seen him like that before. Ulquiorra never lost control, not even when she would wake him up from the occasional nap on her couch. Even when he was in the middle of his dreams, nothing ever came of it. Usually, his lashes would just calmly flutter open into consciousness, perhaps a little groggy (and even sometimes grumpy), but never aggressive.
Now, his eyes were alert, calm…normal, as if nothing had even happened. He stared down at her, his gaze briefly roving over her naked body, as if to assess the situation, before he rolled off of her. Sitting next to her, he brought a knee up to rest his elbow upon, tiredly rubbing at the bridge of his nose.
"Ulquiorra?" she whispered hesitantly as he leaned back and lifted the hand rubbing at his brow to sluggishly run it through his hair. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? Should she try to talk about what had just happened, or just pretend like it never occurred? She was unsure and still shaken. Her hand was throbbing, but no lasting damage had come of it. But still, it had been so unlike him. "I…I…"
She started to sit up, but then his arm abruptly slid under her back and hauled her on top of him without an ounce of effort. Before she knew it, her legs were straddling his waist and her body was flush against his own. Suddenly, his mouth was pressed to hers and Orihime gasped at the unexpected sensation. His hand buried itself in her hair, dragging her head closer as he began forcefully devouring her lips. His tongue pried its way inside her, overly assertive and even a tad needy.
With his fingerprints still around her throat, she froze against him, dazed.
"Woman," he breathed into her mouth, encouraging her to respond, to participate.
That long, lingering look he was giving her, the way his fingers held tight to her hair, as if refusing to let her go, the overpowering urgency with which he plundered her mouth; it completely took her breath away.
Orihime trembled from the wave of hunger she felt coming off him, shocking her into momentary immobility. The way his arm held her so securely against him, pressing her body so hard to his that her breasts flattened against the solid wall of his chest, it threw her off. She wasn't sure what to do. He seemed different, even she could sense that. All she did know was that she wanted to hold him just as tightly. She could only do what she knew best, and that was to let her heart guide her. She just couldn't say no, particularly now that it seemed his guard had lowered somewhat.
Hesitant at first, she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as she tentatively began to return the kiss.
The moment she did, he moaned into her mouth, clenching his hands in her hair.
He completely dominated her tongue with his own. He stole her breath away, sucking it right out of her lungs and utterly wiping away all other thoughts except for the need to have him inside her again.
Sweat was already starting to glaze their bodies, filling the room with heat. The short gasps, the slightly painful rake of his teeth against her lips, the way her hair clung to his chest; it all swept her up like a tidal wave, drowning her in him.
His hips rolled up into hers and she moaned at the sensation of his fully erect member pressing against her. He was already so hard, she could practically feel the aching of his cock to join with her. Her femininity was throbbing just as strongly, straining closer, desperate to unite.
One of his hands was on her backside, squeezing and lifting her slightly as the other slipped behind her. She could feel the way his forearm moved against her outer thigh as he aligned himself with her.
When the head of his length began pressing into her, Ulquiorra dragged his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck. Slowly, he pushed his hips higher, easing himself into her tight sex. His fingers clenched almost painfully in her hair and his lips pressed harshly against her throat, letting out a long, deep groan as she began to stretch around him. She was still so wet that he didn't even have to prepare her for him, her inner walls still coated in a heady mixture of their cum.
He pulled back slightly, only to gently move forward again, earning him a shiver from her.
Too wanton to wait, Orihime spread her legs and bore her weight down onto him.
Ulquiorra's nails dug into her rear, pushing her down and encouraging her further. The raw sound that left him as he gradually sank his entire length to hilt nearly tipped Orihime over the edge. He didn't hesitate to start a deep, slow rocking, driving her further into the darkness where only pleasure and heated moans and this feeling existed. She searched for some semblance of control but quickly gave in to the pull of lust, no longer caring, only wanting to feel. Her insides clenched at the connection, her head dropping to his shoulder at the intensity of the position.
"Oh…Ulquiorra…" she mewled softly. She never knew being on top could make him feel so deep, so different.
His hand on her rear kept pushing her down, as if to urge her to take more of him, though she was quite certain she was already filled to the brim. She would burst should she take more. The gentle but powerful rocking was causing her loins to burn like never before. His face never left the crook of her neck and it seemed as if his grip in her hair just kept getting tighter, but she couldn't bring herself to mind. She loved the way he was holding her like an anchor in a sea he was drowning in.
Even as she felt her sex quivering from the strain of his girth stretching her, she could not help but want more. She would always want more; to take more, to feel more, to give more. She craved it all.
Timidly at first, Orihime slowly rolled her hips up before bringing them back down.
Ulquiorra tensed beneath her, his pelvis straining up to meet her tentative thrust. Heat surged through her own body from the way his dick had stroked her inner walls. Eager to experience it again, she tried it once more, pulling up a little higher this time. The longer, fuller stroke created a friction that was like bliss and she quickly did it again…and then again, and again. It didn't take her long to get the motion down. Soon, she was growing more courageous as she went and began finding the angles that she particularly liked. She picked up her pace, savoring each agonizingly sweet time she plunged him back inside her, stretching her core to its fullest capacity.
Before long, she was riding his dick mercilessly. He met her thrust for thrust, mindlessly following her lead as he panted and grunted into her neck. Every wet slide of his length planted him fully inside her, massaging his shaft like a sheath of velvet. His hand stayed glued to her backside as he let her fuck him, blind instinct prompting his hips to surge forward each time, just to make sure she took all of him in case she faltered.
She dragged a hand down to his chest and pushed herself up enough to find his mouth. Her lips moved over his, opening and closing and twisting their tongues together. She kissed him hard, pouring as much of her passion into it as she could, never once stopping their frenzied love making.
Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and hauled her from his chest, forcing her to sit upright as he simultaneously plunged his length into her hard. Orihime couldn't cover her scream fast enough. The shift in position had allowed him to reach a new depth she had not yet experienced, one she had not been expecting. Neither had she been prepared for it.
Still straddling him, she planted her hands on his chest for support, barely able to stop herself from collapsing back atop him. Her head fell back as her legs unconsciously parted further. She sank as much of her weight down against him as possible, her hips rocking and grinding with blind pleasure. Lost to the world, she gyrated her hips in slow circles, experimenting with all the amazing new things she was feeling. Her clit rubbed against him just right, his dick was as deep as it had ever been before, and her nipples were straining with arousal just from the roaring wave of sensation that flooded her body. It was potent, rushing through her blood like something powerful and dominant. It set fire to every cell and every fiber of her being, both intoxicating and arresting.
She could feel everything of him inside her and, with her limited experience, she could do little more than rut instinctually against the feeling.
His hands were on her hips, gripping her firmly and keeping her in place as he began thrusting up into her hard and fast.
Orihime's cries were loud and filled the room as she spread her knees even wider. Arching her back, she tilted her ass back and braced her hips against the barrage, happily opening herself up to let him have his way with her. His fingers dug into her flesh and her nails raked down his chest. She rolled her face into her shoulder, her upper body squirming in delight, while his eyes admired the way her breasts bounced from his harsh fucking.
Unable to speak, unable to hardly move despite being on top, Orihime felt tears blurring her vision due to the utter pleasure overtaking her. Each entry was even better than the last, each thrust reaching her deepest parts. She wondered why it always seemed that each time they had sex, he put her in some new position that literally brought tears to her eyes. He never let her acclimate, yet always filled her with such bliss.
She loved the feeling of him inside her. She loved it so much it scared her.
When Orihime finally reached her climax, she knew he would soon follow. He immediately had her on her back, forcing her legs apart as he braced himself on his forearms above her. She writhed beneath him, every muscle in her body constricting with pleasure as her walls clenched around him. In the haze of her mind, she could still feel his girth filling her, pushing into her in an insistent, but faltering, cadence. When he suddenly stilled, Orihime unthinkingly lifted her hips, accepting everything he had to offer. She felt his hands squeezing her backside, holding her to him as he emptied himself.
Her arms encircled his neck, pulling him close and breathing him in as she wrapped her legs just as tight around his waist. She reveled in the last waning moments of their peak, relishing the way his member throbbed inside of her, pulsing strongly as it continued to pump his seed into her. Her own body, flushed and trembling, moved against him whilst he rocked into her. The motion pushed his cum further inside her and simultaneously dragged out her own orgasm, ensuring her contractions drew it all the more deeper.
I love him, she thought in that moment. So much more than I should.
It didn't matter how or why. Right then, all that mattered was that she did.
As he started to roll over and pull out of her, Orihime tightened both her arms and legs around his body. He paused and glanced at her briefly, but made no complaint. Instead, he merely let her roll with him as he turned onto his back, letting her lay atop him as she drifted off to sleep.
It was that feeling that she fell asleep to, content and sated. But deep in the unconscious reaches of her mind, she feared her feelings for him were developing much faster than she could control.
"I gotta say, this place is pretty fucking creepy." Renji dropped another pile of quartz sticks next to their campfire. The fire itself, which was fueled by kido, had started to dwindle during the night. Since his snoring had woken everyone up, they'd elected him to go retrieve more "wood" as payback and, with much protest, he'd caved. "The noises alone are giving me chills. It's damn eerie. What kind of place has sounds like that, anyway?" He rejoined the others huddled around the fire, trying to gather warmth from the remaining embers. Some of them were sitting on a large log, some on the ground, but all were close to the smoldering pit.
"I'm sure it's just the wind," Ishida explained logically. "You shouldn't let your imagination run away with you."
Just as he said this, another terrifying scream echoed in the far off distance. The sound was deep and painful, as if an animal were being slowly eaten alive. Everyone in the group jumped. Too prideful to admit to being creeped out, they hid their reactions, trying to appear unaffected. The small pack of Hollows that had been following them, however, didn't even flinch at the noise. Disturbingly enough, they appeared to be used to it. They were completely unaffected by the bloodcurdling sounds.
"I really don't think that's the wind…" Renji furrowed his brow as he turned back to the fire, distracting himself by tossing a couple sticks onto the dying flames. "Not that I care to find out," he inserted under his breath, clearly repulsed by the disturbing place known as Hueco Mundo.
"Come on guys, Hueco Mundo isn't so bad!" Pesche said from his seat across from them. Dondochakka was by his side and Nel was asleep in his lap, drooling profusely. The thick liquid was running down his thigh and pooling in the sand, though he hardly seemed to mind. "I bet it can't be any worse than Soul Society. After all, it's filled with all those vile bad guys like yourselves!" he added cheerfully. "It's probably totally disgusting!" Pesche's lone visible eye crinkled in an exuberant smile.
"Idiot," Renji gritted his teeth, ignoring the foolish Hollow and the blatant insult.
"At least there's food there," Ishida said. "Hueco Mundo, on the other hand, is entirely barren."
Not a second later, a loud, gurgling rumble erupted from both Chad and Ishida's stomachs. As everyone turned to stare at their growling guts, Chad merely glanced down to gaze at his own belly, while Ishida promptly adjusted his glasses and looked away, clearly trying to pretend as if he didn't hear anything at all. However, the hint of pink dusting the tops of his cheeks spoke otherwise.
Rukia blinked, and then gave them a slightly reproving look when she finally seemed to catch on. "You guys came out here completely unprepared, didn't you?" she asked. "I bet you didn't even bring supplies."
Ishida cleared his throat. "It's not like we intended to come here like this."
"Ichigo didn't exactly give us much time," Chad interjected. "When we found out he was leaving for Hueco Mundo, we barely made it to Kisuke's in time to meet up with him. He was in such a hurry, and with the Arrancar attacking Karakura Town, there wasn't much we could do."
"I see," Rukia sighed. "I figured it was something like that. When was the last time you guys even ate?"
"Well, you see…" Ishida trailed off, unsure if he even wanted to explain their little 'hunting venture' earlier.
It had been disastrously pathetic.
Earlier…
"Are…are you sure we can eat this?" Ichigo asked skeptically, eyeing his prized catch with a level of disgust. "It looks pretty raw to me."
"That's because you haven't even killed it yet, idiot." Ishida had to force himself not to sigh. After much digging and an unreasonable amount of cursing the creature for the trouble it presented in apprehending it, the Shinigami boy had actually succeeded in catching the poor lizard-much to the surprise of Ishida. It was currently wiggling around in his hand (alive) and blinking up at its capturers as it tilted its head studiously. All three of them were crowded around Ichigo's hand, staring down at it with an equal amount of curiosity whilst they tried to wrap their minds around just exactly how they were supposed to eat it. "And of course it's edible. It has physical substance in this world. As such, our bodies should be able to convert not only its meat, but its reishi into energy without difficulty," he explained. "All things have reishi, it's merely a matter of how well the body can digest and glean nourishment from them. Your case may be a little different, as you're currently in your spirit form, but the principles are still the same."
"Then how do you propose we go about 'gleaning nourishment' from it?" Ichigo said, though not without mocking.
"You should probably just cut its head off."
The lizard gulped.
"I don't know…" Ichigo grimaced. "I don't want to do it. You do it." He shoved the tiny Hollow towards the Quincy.
"I'm not doing it." Ishida crossed his arms, clearly rebutting the offer.
"Well, I don't want to kill it."
"Neither do I," Chad said.
"Then why did you try to catch it?"
"You said we'd need to eat!" Ichigo replied.
They hated to admit it, but they were all nothing more than a trio of city boys who had no clue how to fend for themselves in situations like these. They weren't used to having to kill for their food. Their food usually came in pre-wrapped packages from the local grocery store.
As far as 'hunting' went, they were totally clueless and probably even a bit too innocent for their own good. They were far too green to make it in a survival situation. Chad may have had the nerve, but he didn't have the heart. Ishida, on the other hand, was cold enough to kill it. He'd killed Hollows his entire life. However, he refused to admit that devouring one was downright…odd, mostly because he was the one that originally suggested it.
"Then, please, by all means, explain to me how we're going to go about eating it if we don't kill it?" Ishida said with a blatantly sardonic bite to his voice.
"I really don't want to eat it." Chad swallowed quietly, as if the thought of devouring something he'd actually seen alive beforehand was making him a little queasy.
"Then we're going to starve." Ishida was trying to be logical about it. "This is not the time or place to be faint of heart. Inoue-san is waiting for us and if we are unable to reach her simply because of our reservations about eating Hollow meat, then there is no point in even being here."
"I think I'd rather starve…" Ichigo cut him off before he could continue, his face dropping into a deadpan expression. "Especially if it meant I wouldn't have to listen to another one of your long ass lectures."
"What did you say?" Ishida protested. "They are not lectures. I am merely trying to be the lone voice of reason in this situation. Really, is your level of intelligence so low that you cannot see the issues we will all face if we don't keep our bodies properly nourished, even yours? Honestly, Kurosaki, I thought you had at least some common sense in you. Though, considering who I'm talking to, I suppose even that's too much to ask."
"Yeah, but…" Ichigo lifted the lizard again. This time, the little creature cowed back, trying to sink down and hide in the hand that held it captive. "Do you really wanna kill this thing? I mean, look at him."
With his arms still crossed, Ishida pushed his glasses up and deigned to spare the insignificant Hollow a sideways glance. It was trembling slightly; its tiny claws clutching Ichigo's fingers like its life depended on it.
"I hate Hollows, too. I know they're monsters and all, but this thing's just so helpless. It's pathetic." Ichigo shook the creature some, as if to try and incite some type of fighting spirit from it. It never came. It didn't fight back, merely continued to cower in terror. "Now tell me you want to kill that." He gestured his free hand at it. "It's practically pissing all over itself."
It did look rather sad.
Ishida released a long exhale and looked away, "Fine." He clearly didn't want to kill it, either. "It's not like we have anything to cook it with, anyways." He tried to downplay his decision with logic, but it was obvious he was just as unwilling to slaughter it as they were.
At his word, Ichigo bent down to one knee and lowered his hand to the ground. As he opened his fingers, the Hollow in his grasp seemed to hesitate. It didn't run away. Instead, its legs remained unmoving as it glanced over its shoulder to gauge its one-time capturer. Seeing that none of them intended to attack, it suddenly took off in a flurry, kicking up little grains of sand in its wake. When it dived underground and effectively disappeared, Ichigo straightened back up, dusting himself off as he stood.
"Well, so much for that." Ichigo stared at the small dip in the sand where the lizard had vanished.
"What about that?" Chad's voice drew their attention up.
When they lifted their heads to see what their friend was pointing at, both Ichigo and Ishida were surprised to see a form standing some distance away.
"Is that…?" Ichigo trailed off.
Several hundred feet from their position, a four legged creature stood atop a faraway ridge, its short bushy tail flicking side to side as if shooing away nonexistent insects. Its body was sleek and muscular, its coloring a deep brown. Large antlers sat upon its head, giving the beast a magnificent yet regal air. Its long neck was angled down as its nose rooted around in the sand. Every once in a while its lean front leg would move forward to dig its hoof into the dirt, searching for something they could not see.
"It looks like…some type of deer," Ishida said, equally surprised. His eyes studied the features of the creature, from the mask on its face to the hole in its abdomen.
"I didn't know Hollows actually took on animal forms like that." Ichigo scratched the top of his head. "I guess it makes sense, though. That lizard was a Hollow, wasn't it?"
"I don't think it really matters," Ishida said shortly. "It's about time we stop playing around." Reaching down to his hip, he pulled out a thin metal rod from the pouch strapped to his belt. With a swipe of a small button, it snapped open and extended out into a perfectly balanced arrow. "Animal or not, I'm not going to waste another opportunity."
"Whoa, is that a real arrow?" Ichigo arched an eyebrow in surprise.
"Of course it is," Ishida answered as he summoned his bow. "I already told you once, I'm an archer, Ichigo. Us Quincies do carry around more than just spirit weapons."
"You can actually fire it from a spirit bow, though?" His brown eyes widened. "That's pretty damn cool."
A smirk touched Ishida's lips. "I know," he said, pushing up his glasses haughtily.
When he lifted his bow to take aim, Ichigo suddenly stepped forward. "Hey! Wait a minute! You're not actually going to shoot it, are you?"
Ishida sighed and momentarily lowered his bow. "What else did you think I was doing, idiot?"
"Yeah, but I thought we already went over this. I don't want to kill anything!"
"Then don't. I will."
"Like hell," Ichigo shot back. "I bet even you don't have it in you."
"Why are you making such a big deal about this?" Ishida's smooth voice was starting to grow irate. "I've killed Hollows my entire life. This is no different. Even you've killed Hollows, Ichigo, so stop acting all high and mighty just because it looks similar to some helpless, innocent animal from the living world!"
"This is different!" Ichigo took another step forward and got right up in his face, neither of them willing to back down. "Those Hollows were attacking us! They were going to kill people. This one isn't doing anything wrong!"
"That's bullshit, Ichigo!" Ishida snapped. "You know all Hollows, no matter what they look like, are nothing but monsters on the inside. Don't even pretend otherwise!"
"I…I'm not!" Ichigo faltered for a moment. From the way he struggled with his reply, it was clear he shared Ishida's monstrous opinion on the beasts known as Hollows, yet when presented with the challenge of killing a creature that seemed as innocent and unassuming as the deer that currently stood before them, his inner conscience warred over how he should react. He knew they were nothing but mindless killing machines, but his heart also knew when something was right and when something was wrong.
This just didn't feel right.
"What if it's got like a family or some shit?"
"A family?" Ishida echoed derisively, half expecting that statement to be a joke.
"Yeah, like a wife and kid or something," he returned.
"You cannot be serious. Hollows do not have 'families', you dumbass! They can't even reproduce, let alone care!"
"How do you know that?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes, clearly getting tired of the Quincy's arrogant attitude.
"This is a survival situation, Ichigo." Ishida leveled his voice out slightly, trying to regain his cool. "I'm not going to let Inoue down by dying out here just because I couldn't get over my reservations about killing some Hollow."
"Inoue wouldn't want you to kill that Hollow, Ishida, and you know it," he said sternly. "Don't even presume for one fucking second that you would know what she wants."
Whatever it was he'd said, it caused Ishida's eyes to darken into something cold and dangerous.
"I don't know what Inoue wants?" he said slowly, turning his head until the glare from his glasses completely hid his blue eyes. "That's ironic coming from you, Kurosaki. For someone who's never given her a second glance, you sure seem to know a lot about her." Ishida cast him a look that held a healthy dose of burning disdain. The small measure of jealousy that lingered in the depths of his gaze, however, went completely unnoticed by his Shinigami friend. "I know exactly what Inoue wants. I've known it for as long as I've known her…and that's what makes me so sick."
"Just what the fuck does that mean?" Ichigo hissed aggressively. "I don't know what the hell you're going on about, or what Inoue even has to do with this to begin with, but if you've got something to say to me, then fucking say it," he growled low. "I know exactly what Inoue needs, unlike you, and this-" He motioned to the deer still standing on the horizon. "-isn't it."
Cold fire erupted in Ishida's eyes, so intense it drowned out all else in his vision.
Just as the Quincy was about to make his comeback, Chad stepped between them.
"Guys, I really don't think now is the time for this," he said calmly. His large, composed manor helped to suspend the tension hanging between both men. "Besides…look." Chad lifted his large hand and pointed once more towards the Hollow.
Ishida and Ichigo briefly put their pride aside, pausing their dispute long enough to peel their gazes away from each other. When they turned to investigate, they were a little shocked by the sight that greeted them.
On the hilltop, a smaller Hollow was running up to the larger male. It was another deer. When it approached, its step was happy, playful…affectionate. It pranced around the male, rubbing its head under his neck in a familiar greeting. Not two seconds later, yet another even smaller Hollow bounded its way up the bank. Its legs were thin and its balance was off, making its trek up the hill difficult. It wobbled in the sand with each eager step, but it remained energetic, regardless of the obstacles it faced.
When the tiny baby deer finally reached the larger pair, it frolicked around their feet before tucking its masked head under one of the female's back legs. Its ears, tail and hooves all twitched and danced about as it began to suckle hungrily, almost as if it couldn't keep its young body in place for long.
The three young men stood rooted to the spot, staring in unified amazement.
"It looks like Ichigo was right," Chad noted aloud, his deep voice never betraying his surprise.
"How…is that even possible?" Ishida couldn't take his eyes off the scene, unsure what to think. "That can't be right. There must be some other explanation." He'd been taught his entire life that Hollows were nothing but mindless, unthinking beasts incapable of anything but death and destruction. His grandfather had been killed by them, and the Shinigami were not much better. All he'd ever known was to hate them, to kill them. They weren't capable of caring or nurturing. They were cruel, fiendish monsters. They murdered and tortured any living thing they could get their hands on. They weren't even supposed to reproduce…were they?
All his knowledge and experience had shown them to be nothing more than an evil plague that needed to be exterminated.
But now, as he looked upon the serenity of the scene before him…it turned his entire world on its head.
It went against everything he'd ever known in life. It went against his reality.
Turning away, Ishida retracted his arrow and tucked it back into the pouch on his hip. As the blue reishi of his spirit bow floated away on the breeze, Ichigo glanced back at him.
"Not going through with it?" he asked.
Ishida wanted to punch him when he heard the smile in his voice.
"I lost my appetite," was all he said.
Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, me too." He turned to their large friend. "Let's go, Chad. We got a long road ahead of us."
Chad nodded as he fell into step beside them.
"Ya know," Ichigo began as they strode through the desert. "I told you it had a wife and kid."
Ishida sighed.
"Shut up, Kurosaki."
Their squabbling started all over again, while Chad wisely kept his silence, as usual.
Though he didn't say anything…he, too, was glad Ishida had not shot it.
Inoue really wouldn't have wanted them to, either.
Renji snorted. He was sitting on the other side of the fire, holding his stomach whilst pointing at the frowning Quincy. "You guys almost ate a lizard?" He laughed. "How stupid can you get?"
"You should watch your tongue…Shinigami," Ishida replied, though Renji overlooked his words and continued to chuckle to himself with much humor.
"That dumbass," Renji said as he turned his head to glance at a sleeping Ichigo. He lay a short distance away from the rest of the group, putting an unusual amount of space between himself and the camp. His arm was tucked under his strawberry blonde head and his back was facing them, his soft snores barely audible above the crackle of the fire. "I'll have to give him a hard time about it when he gets up." He grinned wickedly.
"At least we didn't actually eat it." Chad shrugged. "I'm not sure if I could've stomached devouring a Hollow."
"I figured something like this would come up," Rukia began as she stood up. They all watched as she produced three plain brown knapsacks from under her cloak. "Renji and I made sure to come fully prepared. We packed enough food and rations to last us each a good while. Knowing you guys, I made sure to bring three extras just in case," she explained as she tossed two to Ishida and Chad, keeping the last bag for Ichigo. "There's water in there, along with a few basic other supplies. Make sure to make them last. Once you run out, that's it."
"I'm sure we would have been just fine without this," Ishida said, though there wasn't an ounce of conceit in his voice. His pride simply wouldn't allow him to admit he'd needed the help. "Your aid is appreciated, but not necessary."
"Yeah well, you're getting it anyways." She smirked. "So take it and shut up."
"Thank you, Rukia," Chad said as he reached into the pack and took out one of the bottles of water. Cracking it open, he took a small sip. They hadn't even been in Hueco Mundo for two days, yet the desert had already drained them in that short amount of time. It was a harsh land and it took its toll.
Rukia nodded in silent acknowledgment and stepped closer to the fire, holding her hands out to warm them up.
"I am curious, though." Rukia stared into the flames, quietly pondering over something she'd heard in their story. "You said that Hollow you almost shot actually had…a family?" She lifted her eyes to Ishida, who was also taking a drink of his water.
"I doubt it could be defined as something as indulgent as a 'family'," he replied, screwing the cap back onto the bottle. "They were nothing more than animals, just like the lizard. They seemed no different than a pack of deer you might encounter in the living world. There was a buck, a doe, and a fawn, that's the only way I can describe it."
"Yeah, but…the two adults, they had offspring?" Her brow dipped, trying to wrap her mind around it. "I never knew that was possible."
"Neither did I. I've always been taught that Hollows were good for nothing but exterminating. When I saw those three on that sand dune…I started to realize just how little I actually know about the creatures I've been raised to destroy."
Ishida knew what could be classified as the basics. He knew that they had masks, he also knew that their hearts were missing and that they devoured anything and everything they came across to fill that void; humans, Soul Reapers, even their own kind. But, other than that, he was totally ignorant. All of them were, technically.
They just hadn't realized it until now.
"Have you ever heard of such a thing, Renji?" Rukia glanced over to her fellow Shinigami.
"No." He shook his head. "Back in the academy, the only thing they taught us was how to kill them. That was all we apparently needed to know." He shrugged. "Kinda makes you think, though, doesn't it? I mean, blindly following orders like that…" It could make a person do terrible things and they wouldn't even know it. They'd be slaughtering under a false assumption, wrongly believing their intentions were pure.
A strained silence fell over their group as each of them began to absorb the true extent of their ignorance. They were finally becoming aware of just how wrong their preconceived views on the world might have been. Every single one of them had been spoon fed a predetermined set of rules about humans, Hollows, and Shinigami since birth. They'd been so wrapped up in following those stringent guidelines that they had never once thought to stop and look outside those ideals to see if they were even true.
"What are ya guys talking about?" Pesche suddenly interrupted the silence in his usual obnoxious manner, totally overlooking the fact that the mood was not exactly radiant. "Of course Hollows have families!"
"What do you mean?" Rukia narrowed her eyes curiously.
"Lots of Hollows have brothers and sisters and such," Dondochakka said. "Just look at us and Nel here." He motioned to the sleeping child. "We're all brothers! Isn't it obvious?"
Renji sighed. He was getting a little tired of listening to their repeated claims of "brotherhood". "No, you moron. We've already been over this. You're not brothers. You can't be when she is clearly a female."
For a moment, their brightly colored bodies seemed to turn blue with horror. Hurriedly, both males reached down to cover the slumbering child's ears.
"Hey, watch what you're sayin', bad guy!" Pesche exclaimed. "Of course we're brothers! Why would you even say that?!" He sounded thoroughly appalled.
"Yeah, what if Nel heard you?" Dondochakka reinforced his 'brother'.
Renji rubbed his temple. "She already heard us!" he nearly shouted. "She was awake earlier when we went over this. This is like the hundredth time!"
"You might as well not even bother," Ishida said. "It's never going to get through their thick skulls."
Rukia smiled softly as she listened to the bickering. She knew better than to try to pursue the topic further. She'd never get a straight answer, let alone a logical one. The group was unlikely to stay focused on the subject once the strange pair of Hollows opened their mouths. They might impart a small gem of information, but it wouldn't be long before the conversation would revert to insults and nonsensical squabbling.
As she started to turn away from the fire and head back to her seat, Rukia suddenly paused.
Ichigo was still sleeping several feet away from their group, far from the warmth of their fire. She'd been keenly keeping an eye on his person, watching over him almost protectively. His breathing had been steady and his reiatsu calm…until now.
She could feel an odd vibe radiating from him, causing unnerving goose bumps to crawl across her skin.
Rukia glanced over her shoulder, eyeing his prone form where he lay, covered in darkness. From the way the rest of the group continued to chat as if nothing was amiss, she suspected they didn't even notice. A cursory look around their small circle proved this. Though, when her eyes landed on Chad's silent figure, she could see the way his lone visible eye was directed towards his friend, watching him carefully.
It wasn't long before the rest of them gradually fell quiet. Their conversation died off as the dark, ominous aura coming from the sleeping boy began to grow.
Then, quite unexpectedly, Ichigo shot upright. He panted heavily as he looked around, seemingly searching for something that he expected to be there upon waking. When he turned his gaze towards their group, ice ran down Rukia's spine.
His eyes were petrifying.
There was only one thing within them; death.
Those were the eyes of someone looking to kill, to murder…to completely destroy.
It only lasted for a brief moment. The instant he set his sights on his friends, recognition clicked in those terrifyingly dark eyes of his. But as fleeting as it was, it had still been there long enough for everyone to see it.
As if reading the expressions on their faces, Ichigo turned away and got to his feet. Without a single word, he walked away, disappearing over a nearby ridge.
Everyone remained unspeaking as Rukia picked up the extra knapsack she'd brought along and calmly took off after him. She knew if she was going to talk to him, she'd need to open up a neutral line of conversation. The knapsack could do just that.
When Rukia rounded the top of the ridge, she found Ichigo sitting on the other side of the steep slope, his elbows propped up on his bent knees. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would offer any protest to the company.
It had been a long time since she'd seen him, even longer since she'd spent some alone time with him. Now, staring at his back as he stared at the horizon, she realized just how much she'd missed him.
"Hey," she greeted as she edged her way down the slope. Sand slid out from under her sandaled feet as she lowered herself beside him. He didn't say anything, didn't even look her way. "I brought this for you." She lifted the bag into her lap and began rummaging around its contents, mostly for a distraction. "There should be enough rations here to last you until we get to that Las Noches place. I already gave Chad and Ishida theirs."
He didn't reply, only continued gazing into the distance.
Instead of pushing him, Rukia merely turned her own eyes out towards the white landscape of Hueco Mundo. She watched in silence, sighing at the way the breeze lifted her hair.
Eventually, the moon began to sink further and further towards the horizon. It was the only source of illumination in the desert, yet the white sands and dark sky seemed to give the place an unearthly glow. When the bottom tip of the moon touched the line between sand and sky, Rukia smiled softly at the skewed way it seemed to be standing on its own, teetering on the verge of tipping over. Odd how such a terrible place, a place she had been told housed vicious monsters, was so strangely yet hauntingly beautiful.
"Do you think Inoue even needs us to save her?" Ichigo's voice suddenly broke her out of her reverie.
Rukia glanced over to find him still staring at the moon, his eyes deep and brooding.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…" He looked down, focusing on some random grain of sand between his knees. "Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking. How does she feel about us rushing to her aid all the time like this?"
Rukia blinked in surprise. "You…don't think she chose to go with them, do you?"
Ichigo sighed.
"Listen, I know she was pretty upset about what Kisuke told her, but I don't think she'd make such a drastic decision to just go out and join Aizen's army," Rukia continued.
"No, that's not what I meant." He shook his head slightly. "I know she didn't go with them willingly. It's just, everyone's been talking about not letting her sacrifice go to waste and shit, and that she'd still knowingly follow the same path if she knew it would save lives, like she wouldn't care that Soul Society just signed her life away so long as it was for the greater good. If that's the case…then what are we doing here? I want her out of that place just as badly as any of you do, and I intend to save her, even if it kills me. But…what if she already found out about the treaty? What if she resents us? I'm not going to pretend like she wouldn't hold that against us when she finds out we let her get used as a war pawn."
"What kind of question is that? I'm sure Inoue-san would be smart enough to understand you, Ishida and Chad would have no say in something like that. Besides, from what I know of her, you could rush to her aid as many times as you like and I don't think she'd hold it against you." She offered him another small smile, but he completely missed the innuendo. While Rukia knew of Inoue's love for the boy, she also knew Ichigo was rather clueless to it. To be more precise, he purposefully looked the other way. For as dense as he could be sometimes, she knew he wasn't that oblivious. He probably knew something was there, but never cared to look deep enough into it to find out just what that something was. He was entirely uninterested. "Inoue loves her friends more than life itself. I'm sure that no matter what happens that love will never change."
"That's not…" Ichigo paused as parts of his dream kept playing back, over and over again inside his mind.
He could still see it: he'd found her in that fortress, and he remembered the deluge of relief that swept over him to finally have her within arm's reach. He'd crossed the desert of Hueco Mundo to get to her, fought until his bones ached. He never stopped until he found her. Now, he could bring her back where he could keep her safe. His hand was reaching out to her, patiently waiting for her to take it so they could leave and rejoin their friends.
He'd never forget those words she'd said, "Silly, Kurosaki-kun." She giggled in that light, airy way of hers. "You don't need to protect me anymore." Then she turned and left him. As she walked away, that Arrancar was there waiting for her, his pale skin and dead eyes like a plague upon Ichigo's soul. "I have Arrancar-san to do that now."
Ichigo had felt broken.
If she didn't need him anymore then what had he been fighting for all this time? Why had he spent months training and agonizing over her in the first place? If she no longer needed him, what was the point?
He remembered the day he'd struck up a deal with that Arrancar, back when he'd given him the scroll to deliver to Soul Society. He'd practically blackmailed him into doing it. He'd tried to resist at first, the idea of selling Inoue off like that too sickening for him to bear. But in the end, Ichigo had caved. He'd had no choice. The Arrancar had offered to protect Inoue, just to get him to do his bidding, and he'd accepted it like a desperate weakling. Anything to keep her safe.
It was all he could do…
He'd clung onto that one hope, yet resented it at the same time. Maybe he could keep her safe, but it was Ichigo's job to protect his friends, not that Arrancar's.
Now, with that man watching over her, she didn't need Ichigo anymore. He'd succeeded where Ichigo had failed. He was probably turning her against them.
She'd been the one thing he had to cling to when he'd felt abandoned. Just the thought of her discarding him like that - discarding all of them - was depressing.
"Whatever it is that's eating away at you, Ichigo, you're not giving Inoue-san enough credit," Rukia began, leveling him with a stern stare. She'd started to sense that pit of despair coming upon him again, pulling him down into its dark depths. Like hell she was going to let that happen. "She's your friend, no matter what. Maybe you're afraid you're not strong enough, or maybe you're afraid of facing the enemy, or maybe you're just afraid of something I can't understand, but whatever it is, you need to let it go. Inoue is depending on you. She's depending on all of us." Reaching over, she placed her small hand on his forearm in a rare display of affection. "We're here to help you, Ichigo. You're not alone anymore." Her fingers gave a faint squeeze just to let him know how much she meant it.
He didn't say anything more, causing her to begin to wonder.
"Is that what you were dreaming about?" she asked. After all, she doubted something as simple as worrying over Orihime would cause him to wake up with such a dark, frightening look in his eyes. "Or was it something else?"
Ichigo sighed again and reached up to rub his brow, unsure if he even wanted to tell her.
The worst part of that dream wasn't Inoue saying she didn't need him. It was the way he'd charged that Arrancar in a blind rage after he realized he'd taken her from him. He'd wanted to kill him and it made him sick. His anger had only been inflamed by that dead look in those green eyes, staring at him as if he were nothing.
He thought he'd gotten over those dreams. He'd tried to suppress them, but being in Hueco Mundo seemed to make them worse.
The thought of that monster corrupting her only continued to eat away at him.
Ichigo hated to admit it, but he knew it was because he was nothing without his friends.
Without them, he was just like Grimmjow; a monster who fought only for the sake of fighting, someone who had no reason to fight. But, with them, he had a purpose…a meaning. With them, he wasn't nothing. With them, he had a reason to keep his Hollow under control. Just the idea of someone taking one of his reasons away broke part of his resolve.
"It's nothing," he said harshly, turning his head away to avoid looking at her. "It's not like it's any of your business, anyways."
"You idiot." Her stern voice automatically made him tense up. He flinched away, fully expecting to be hit or elbowed or worse.
However, what he didn't expect was the way her arm suddenly wrapped around his neck. In the next moment, she yanked him over, practically flipping him into her lap as she pressed his head to her chest. Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. He froze, feeling his body lying at a somewhat slanted angle between her legs.
"Whether it's my business or not, it isn't 'nothing'…Ichigo." With his face buried in the folds of her kosode, he didn't see the light blush that touched her cheeks. Contrarily, with his own visage hidden from view, neither could she see the very bright, very hot shade of red that was utterly covering Ichigo's entire countenance. Gently, she lowered her head, resting her lips atop his strawberry blonde crown as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Just get that through your thick skull, already."
Unsure what to do, Ichigo swallowed hard and prayed that she couldn't feel the way his heart was thundering away inside his chest.
Deciding to chance it, he hesitantly lifted his arms and began to circle them around her tiny waist. She stiffened and gasped quietly. Ichigo froze again, but when he heard no protest, he threw all caution to the wind and completely enfolded her in his arms, returning her embrace. He held onto her tightly and buried his nose in her bosom, inhaling her scent deeply. She may strike him for it later, but he was going to get as much out of it as he could. He wanted to breathe her in while it lasted, for as long as she let him.
He was so tired of the darkness, so tired of the bad dreams, and the fears, and the Hollows, and just everything. Without her by his side, he'd been lost. He'd been arrogant enough to think he could get by without her there to guide him. She was the only thing that made all the fighting worth it.
If anything ever happened to her…if she ever left him…
Ichigo constricted his arms around her, pulling her body into his. Her fingers tensed in his hair in response, inadvertently scraping his scalp with her nails. A moan nearly escaped his lips, forcing him to clench his teeth to hold it back.
Pushing all hesitance and inexperience aside, Ichigo ran his hands down her back, soaking in the feel of her. She shivered at the slow, longing touches, causing her back to arch slightly towards him.
"I-Ichigo…" Her voice hinted at uncertainty, but there was also an underlying desire there that even his inexperienced ears could pick up on. Just the sound of her voice saying his name like that, it was like a fantasy come to life.
"Rukia," he breathed, turning his face into her to nuzzle her chest. His fingers dug into the fabric over her shoulder blades, clinging to her as if he never wanted to let her go. Her smell, her feel, her voice; he wanted it all.
"Ichigo…wh-what are you-?" Her words were cut off with another gasp as he nestled closer, burrowing his nose and mouth past her shitagi. His hands clenched in the clothes on her back, pulling at the fabric until it started to fall open and slide off her shoulder. She could suddenly feel his breath on her skin, hot and moist as it fluttered across her collar bone. "Ichigo!" she said quietly, her voice caught somewhere between shock and lust. When his face pushed further under her robes, her legs scrunched up around his waist, tightening her entire being around him. His lips brushed over the swell of her small breast, heating her flesh with desire.
Soon, his slow, lingering caresses were replaced with stronger, more hurried movements. The more he got of her, the more he wanted. The closer he edged to her breast, the deeper his breaths grew, causing her hold on his hair to become tighter.
"I-Ichigo…wait," she panted, her cheeks flushing darker and darker by the second. "Not here, wait."
The words slipped through his mind unheard. Lost in his own world, all he could feel was her. Desperate to taste her, he pulled her closer, dipping his head lower as his mouth finally found the tiny pink bud of her nipple. His lips grazed the soft skin around her areola, savoring the delicate feel of her. With his thoughts only on tasting her, his tongue slipped out to give it a gentle lick.
"Oh, god…" Rukia held her breath when his lips suddenly closed around her and began suckling hungrily. Her head fell back, unsure if she even wanted to resist anymore. Her hands fisted in his hair and held him to her breast, urging him to continue.
His arms clung to her like an anchor, never loosening their grip. His breathing was hard as he shifted closer, needing to be as near to her as their bodies would allow. When she moaned for him, his hands traveled down her tiny figure, exploring every slight curve before they dipped under her backside. Sand slipped through his fingers as he cupped her small cheeks in his palms. He pulled her to him, instincts driving him to thrust his own hips down into her.
"Ichigo," she groaned, trying to muffle her voice by biting her lip.
He drew her hardened nipple between his teeth, simultaneously pressing his member between her legs. All he knew was that his cock was aching and hard and he needed to be inside her. He yearned to do nothing more than plunge his length into her body.
Filled with urgent lust, he began thrusting against her insistently, desperate to ease the burning desire in his engorged length.
Rukia clenched her eyes shut and brought her knees up, holding to him as she began to lose herself to sensation. His strong movements started hitting her clit, nearly causing her to cry out in sudden bliss, and the hushed, whining noises she made in reply only enticed him further.
"We…we can't!" she tried to say, but familiar heat was already pooling in her loins. It was winding her inner muscles tighter, daring her to push him away now when her need was already stoked to life. She loved him, even more than life itself, but she doubted he even knew the true extent of his own feelings on the matter and she certainly didn't want him to regret anything later. She didn't want this until he knew his own heart. "This really isn't…a good place…to be doing this." She tried to rationalize, yet the feel of his hardness pressing against her nearly convinced her otherwise. It was as frightening a sensation as it was exhilarating, but she had to be the rational one. She'd always been the rational one.
Quite honestly, she was sick of being the rational one.
Right now, all she wanted was to surrender.
He was as intense as she'd always imagined, yet equally gentle, and she wanted him like no other. His hands were holding firm to her backside, and in a moment of passion he dragged her clothed sex along the entire length of his shaft. As he felt her slide so fully against him through the fabric of their uniforms, Ichigo's breath stuttered against her breast, forcing him to release her nipple and wheeze out a long groan of pleasure.
"Fuck, Rukia…" he bit out as he continued to rock into her.
That seemed to do it. She simply couldn't fight it anymore, she couldn't fight him.
Without wasting another second, she wrapped her arms around his neck, locked a slender leg around his hip and began grinding herself into him in return, finally taking control of his fumbling attempts.
"God damn it," he cursed under his breath, entire body flooded with more sensation than he could ever remember feeling in his life. "That's so fucking good." He gasped against her neck, his hips always in motion against hers. "You're so fucking good."
His endearments heated her up like never before, filling her with passion she hadn't felt for a very long time. Her hands raked through his hair, tugging his head close as she stared into his dark eyes.
"Ichigo…I," she suddenly paused, lashes fluttering shut as her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. His length was pressing directly on her clit, driving her utterly up the wall. Tightening her leg around his hip, she held him to that spot, her head rolling back as she felt her vaginal walls begin to twitch and contract. "Oh…oh dear god, Ichigo…right there, I'm close…!"
His eyes were glued to her face as he did as she bid, captivated by her ethereal beauty. Her dark hair was splayed in the white sand, her pale skin glowing with a light sheen of sweat. Her long lashes were pressed tight to her blushing cheeks and her tiny, pink lips were parted as she labored for air. She was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen. He stared as her mouth fell open, her expression lost in pleasure…pleasure that he was the source of.
He was going to make Rukia cum, and for some reason he took great pride in that fact.
"Yes, just like that!" she breathed, her back bowing as every muscle in her body began to tense up. "I'm-"
Suddenly, all the breath in her lungs left her. Her entire body went rigid. He felt her thighs spasm around him as a quiet, strangled moan escaped her throat.
"Hey, Kurosaki! Get your ass over here! It's time to leave!" Ishida's voice came from over the ridge, growing closer with each word.
The next thing Ichigo knew, Rukia's foot was planted in his chest and he was flying through the air.
As Ishida mounted the hill a split-second later, his eyes narrowed in confusion as he watched the strawberry blonde Shinigami come plunging down, face first, into the bank of the neighboring dune, shrieking all the while.
Sighing, the Quincy adjusted his glasses and glanced to Rukia. "You'd think he'd learn by now to stop making all those midget comments…" he said, slightly exasperated. However, he nearly stopped short when he noticed how the petite woman was running a shaking hand through her hair whilst her other hand frantically straightened the top of her kosode. She was clearly trying to be inconspicuous about it, but the distinct wrinkles in her clothes, along with the way sand fell out of her midnight locks, suggested he had interrupted something. With realization setting it, a light blush started to rise on the Quincy's cheeks.
"Yeah, you're right." Rukia cleared her throat as she got to her feet, her legs unsteady. "Midget comments…" she said, avoiding eye contact.
Ishida couldn't help but smirk as he watched Ichigo pull his face out of the dirt, his brown eyes blazing with anger.
After hacking up a surprising amount of sand, Ichigo suddenly turned his angered glare towards them. "What the hell, Rukia?!" he shouted, clearly pissed. "Why'd you have to go and do that for?!"
"Shut up, idiot!" she shouted right back, her hands still trying to readjust her cloak.
"Shut up? Like hell!" he retorted. "You didn't have to fucking kick me in the god damned chest! And right when you were about to-"
"Ichigo, I swear I'll rip your tongue out if you don't shut your mouth." Her face exploded in a burst of cherry red. Though, to her credit, she tried her best to act as if she wasn't blushing her ears off.
Still, despite the very blatant blush on her cheeks, her violet eyes were dead serious, and Ichigo knew from past experience when to leave well enough alone. He lifted his hands in surrender, submitting with silent fury.
As he stood up, he dusted off his clothes with hard, aggravated swipes, irritably mumbling under his breath about 'shitty Quincies' and 'aching man parts'.
When they joined up with the others, Rukia's face still hadn't returned to a normal color, Ishida was also still blushing, but pretended like he wasn't, and Ichigo was in an overall bad mood, and also blushing. Everyone else seemed oblivious to the odd atmosphere between them, or purposefully ignored it. Nel, on the other hand, spent the rest of the night glaring suspiciously at Rukia, silently plotting ways to be rid of the lone obstacle that stood between her and a 'happily ever after' with 'Itsygo'.
Morning came quickly and Orihime woke up with her usual stretch. With a small smile on her face, she rolled over and burrowed into the endless sea of blankets on the bed, hoping to get another hour or two of shuteye.
Still half asleep, Orihime crinkled her brow in sudden thought.
She was in a bed.
She didn't remember falling asleep on a bed last night.
Curiously, she peeked her head out from under the covers and took in her surroundings. The sheets were tucked up to her eyes as she scanned the area, a quick preliminary sweep confirming that she was still in Ulquiorra's room. It was early morning and the lights were on, but there wasn't an ounce of sunlight inside or outside the room, thus retracting from the usual warmth that morning offered. Though, by now, Orihime was quite used to that. Hueco Mundo was a place of eternal night. The dome was the only thing that offered any respite from the darkness. It was the only sunlight she'd seen there. Fake as it may be, she still enjoyed it. It reminded her of life in the living world, though a painful reminder it could sometimes be.
Looking down to the mattress, she ran her fingers over the cool sheets, wondering how she had gotten in the bed in the first place.
Had Ulquiorra put her up there?
She was a little surprised he hadn't just left her on the floor. Given that he'd even bothered made her feel strangely happy.
Her eyes scanned the area again and promptly found Ulquiorra's form standing in the kitchen, not even dressed for the day. Orihime quickly ducked back under the covers, trying to remain incognito as she observed his movements. His night pants were drooping around his hips as he reached up, opened one of the cabinets, and pulled out several items that looked like plastic packets.
Orihime's heart raced with curiosity.
Ulquiorra in domestic life?!
Why did she find that so exciting? Why did she suddenly feel more like an explorer trying to observe a wild and rare animal in its natural habitat, cautiously hoping to stay undetected so as not to scare said animal away?
Regardless of why, she couldn't take her eyes off him as he ripped open the packets and poured them into a large pitcher. After filling the pitcher with water from the sink and stirring its contents until it started to vaguely resemble something akin to a protein shake, he unflinchingly lifted it to his mouth and turned it bottom up, chugging the entire thing.
Orihime cringed, her eyes wide.
Is that what he considered breakfast?
Yuck…
"Get out of bed, woman." Ulquiorra's voice startled her, prompting her eyes to dart back to his person.
"No fair! How did you know I was awake?" she demanded as her head popped out from under the covers. Her hair, which had been braided the night before, was now a total mess. Ulquiorra merely glanced at her over his shoulder before he turned back to rinse out his pitcher and place it next to the sink.
"You need to get dressed." He made his way over to the closet and opened the door, going about his morning routine as if she weren't even there. "I have business to take care of. I'll be taking you to the kitchens earlier than usual."
"I can go by myself."
Standing inside the closet, Ulquiorra untied the drawstring of his pants and proceeded to drop them to the floor.
Orihime blushed fairly hard, but was proud of herself for not completely looking away. Instead of feeling the need to dart her eyes around the room nervously like she would normally do, she now started to feel the tug of gravity pulling her eyes down, wanting to look.
"I've been going by myself most of the time, anyways." She swallowed softly, glad that her voice hadn't cracked. It was a lot harder not to look than she thought it would be. "I want to sleep a little longer. I'll just go later after I get my shower."
"No," Ulquiorra said as he pulled on a fresh hakama. "Lord Aizen has agreed to give you explicit access to one of the kitchens. Once I escort you there and ensure everything is in order, I'm leaving for the day. After that, you are free to come and go as you wish."
Orihime's eyes widened slightly. "You…you asked him to give me a kitchen?"
"No," Ulquiorra said again. Grabbing a jacket and pair of boots, he turned back to the bed. "Considering your reluctance to follow orders, I was forced to bring up the issues concerning your safety. This is merely his solution to the problem."
Orihime was quiet as he tossed his jacket onto the mattress. When he sat down on the edge of the bed, she stared at his back, her heart thudding loudly in her chest as he bent over to pull one of his boots on.
He had actually held up his end of their deal. He'd told Aizen about her 'inconsequential' qualms over the taste testing.
Pushing the covers off her body, Orihime crawled down to the foot of the bed, where he was currently distracted zipping up the nearly knee-high boot. She smiled softly as she leaned into his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He immediately stopped, pausing his movements for only a scant second before he merely went about his business, dragging the other boot over his foot.
"Thank you…Ulquiorra-kun." Her smile widened as she bent over his shoulder and placed a quick kiss to his cheek. Even from such an angle, she could see him frown slightly. For a moment, he started to turn, as if he were right on the verge of pulling away from the kiss. Ultimately, he remained still, silently allowing her the small satisfaction of expressing her affection.
"Get dressed, woman." He stood up, forcing her to release him. "We need to leave."
"Can we stop by my room?" she asked as she watched him grab his jacket and shrug it onto his shoulders.
"Yes," he answered, zipping it up.
"And when we get to the kitchen, I can fix whatever I want? And I can go there anytime I want?"
"Yes." Ulquiorra retrieved his sword and slid it smoothly into its place at his hip.
"Even if-"
"Woman." Ulquiorra pocketed his hands as he turned to her, his firm voice communicating that he was not going to answer any more questions.
Orihime sighed in disappointment as she tugged a sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her body, forfeiting her curiosity for the time being. After sliding off the mattress, she made her way over to the pile of pillows that were still on the floor and bent down to retrieve her underwear. Still a little self-conscious, she had to peek over her shoulder just to make sure he wasn't looking so she could get dressed.
When she saw that he was already halfway to the door, his back safely turned, she dropped the sheet and stepped into her panties, pulling them up her legs. However, as she looked for her night shirt, she came up completely empty handed. Getting down on her hands and knees, she began rooting around the pillows, certain that it had to be there somewhere.
"Ulquiorra?" she called out as she continued to dig through the cushions. "Have you seen my top? I can't find it."
"I imagine it would be in the same place it was left last night." He was starting to sound a little impatient.
"I know, but…" She chewed her lip and leaned back on her haunches, staring at the pillows as if that would somehow make it magically appear. "I don't see it anywhere."
"Then leave it."
"B-but I can't just go out without a shirt on!" Her voice squeaked slightly, appalled by the idea.
"The closet is full of jackets. Put one of them on if you are so concerned," Ulquiorra said plainly, turning back to open the door.
"You mean…" Orihime swallowed. "Wear one of yours?" Her face lit up like a furnace, practically heating the entire room.
"Woman, I do not have time to stay here and discuss the matter of whether or not my apparel is to your liking. Either put something on or leave as you are." Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving the door cracked just enough for her to fit through.
Orihime's lower lip jutted out into a frown. "That's not what I meant-" she started, but he was already gone and she saw no point in quarreling.
It wasn't that she didn't think it would 'satisfy her tastes', or whatever he meant. It was just…the thought of wearing his clothes seemed strangely intimate.
Pushing her embarrassment aside, Orihime got to her feet and approached the door of his linen closet. When she looked inside, she was surprised to see it was nearly the size of her room. White pillows, bed sheets, extra bath towels, and various other fabrics lined the shelves in neatly folded stacks. She spotted his jackets hanging on a rack in the back, each one precisely spaced apart. An entire row of well-polished boots was lined up beneath them, all of them as accurately spaced as the jackets. She almost felt wrong for pulling one off its hanger, like she was desecrating his perfectly kept space. The whole closet was almost ridiculously tidy. Everything had an order to it. Everything had its place, and she didn't seem to belong in it.
Orihime lifted the coat to her nose. Holding close to her chest, she breathed in the fresh scent. Every inch of it was pressed to perfection, crisp and clean. Even still, it smelled like him.
As she slid it on, she was stunned by how big it was on her. With as thin as Ulquiorra was, she had expected it to be a decent fit. Instead, the sleeves were hanging down past her fingers and the coat tails were dragging the floor, which made sense considering he was a bit taller than her. When she zipped it up, the front hem-which was already fairly short-rode up to her navel due to her large breasts, exposing her midriff.
She sincerely hoped she didn't run into anyone in the halls. It would be rather embarrassing for someone to see her in nothing but Ulquiorra's jacket and a pair of underwear. With as much skin as she was showing, it wouldn't be hard to notice all the hickeys and love marks between her legs. Anybody would come to the obvious conclusion, and they'd be right to make those assumptions.
Orihime sighed as she headed out of the closet and towards the bedroom door, certain that Ulquiorra was probably getting tired of waiting on her.
They were stopping by her room, anyway. She could just get changed there. Though, she had to admit, now that she had his jacket on, she didn't want to take it off.
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TBC
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